Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. - Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

What would Christianity look like if Jesus had consistently pulled his disciples to the side to degrade or trash talk the poor, insult the outcasts, and spread rumors about the unruly? It’s hard to imagine that others would have been attracted to His teachings.

Baseball chatter or a few socially unacceptable words thrown around the garage are hardly a reason to concern ourselves. However, claiming to be a follower of Christ while spewing out profanity, hurling degrading comments, or spreading around piercing gossip is simply unacceptable.

Whether we like it or not, the world is making its decision about Jesus Christ by what flows freely from our lips. How many pastors or priests would we feel comfortable teaching us about God if they pulled us aside on occasion to trash talk someone else?

Likewise, why would any non-beleiver feel compelled to find out more about Jesus Christ if we followers are not distinctively different? While our hearts may be set toward God – the world will know about our faith by the way we carry ourselves and how we express ourselves. What we do and say – does matter.

It takes an amazing amount of self-control to filter our language. When our heart is clean and concerned with building up our brothers, families, friends, and even people different from us – then our mouths will follow suit.

THE RIGHT NEXT STEP

Think of one person you can build up today through encouraging words – be intentional.

PRAY: God, I want you to consume my heart and my thoughts so I only see the best and want the best for others. Give me a desire to build up the people around me and shut my mouth when I’m about to tear down someone else. Amen.

"And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed." - Joshua 5:8

Before the nation of Israel could go into the Promised Land they had to be circumcised. Circumcision is painful, bloody, and personal. God requires each of us to be circumcised in heart before we are allowed to enter and receive the blessings that await each believer in the Promised Land.

This circumcision can often be very painful. Circumcision requires losing our old way of life. The process of spiritual circumcision may mean a loss in areas that have been a part of our lives in order to draw us to the Savior. God understands this. Consequently, like the people of Israel, we must wait until we are healed before we begin to be effective in our calling. If we launch out too early, we will be ineffective and may risk infection and disease and will not be at our full capacity. God wants each of us to walk in His healing grace.

The people of Israel fought only two battles when they were coming out of Egypt. In the Promised Land they fought 39 battles. Each of us must be prepared to enjoy the benefits of living in the Promised Land. However, we must also be prepared to wage war against the enemy of our souls. Make sure the Lord has provided the needed healing to your circumcision experience before you enter the Promised Land.

Are you ready for the circumcision to take place for God to reveal the promise in your life?

Have you ever been given a pop quiz at school. Needless to say if you attended school of any sort than chances are you experienced a pop quiz. Do you remember the feeling you felt when the teacher announced it? Your feelings went one of two ways. One way ou might have felt was " I got this because I had been studying all along". The other way you might have felt is " I am scared because I am not prepared for this, and I know I'm going to fail this one". The feeling of dread covered over you because you are unprepared and the test was unexpected.

The Lord's return is going to happen unexpectedly will you find yourself prepared or unprepared?

Matthew 24:44 the Son of man will come so we must always be prepared.

Are you ready? If you want more information please feel free to call or email. We would love to hear from you.

Christianity has always claimed that on the first Easter Sunday some 2,000 years ago, a man named Jesus, who died on a Roman cross and was buried in a tomb, physically rose from the dead.

Among world religions, the resurrection of Jesus Christ stands unique. Easter is not about colored eggs or bunnies or Spring Break. It is about an empty tomb and a risen Christ.

After the crucifixion the followers of Christ were devastated and defeated. But only days later they stood in downtown Jerusalem fearlessly preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They continued to preach Christ even though they were imprisoned and beaten. They turned the world upside down. Why this transformation? What had happened? They had seen the risen Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest and most important event in the history of the world and is based on the strongest of historical evidence. No one has ever produced the body of Jesus. If someone had, Christianity would have been stamped out in a moment. But Christ is risen!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest and most important event in the history of the world.

Does it really matter whether Jesus actually rose from the dead? Does it matter whether the resurrection is historical fact or mere religious myth? How can something that happened so long ago have any significance or impact on us living in the 21st century?

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ are not only central to all of human history–combined they are the pivotal event in each of our personal lives. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the power of God is displayed to the whole universe and directly affects all of our lives–past, present and future.

For Our PastThe resurrection of Jesus from the dead confirms that He fulfilled His mission in coming to the earth. Jesus’ mission was to die for the sins of the world (Matthew 1:21, John1:29). On the cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ perfectly completed His sacrifice of atonement. “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). But before our Savior could bring us to God, not only had He to die for our sins, He had to rise from the dead.

Christ is able to save all who come to Him.

The resurrection then explains and validates the cross. Without the resurrection there would be no salvation for any of us. The living Christ is now able and willing to save all who come to Him (Romans 4:25, Hebrews 7:25).

What then is the relevance of the resurrection for us? Because Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, forgiveness of our sins is available. In order to be saved and have our sins forgiven, we must believe that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

The only power that can deal with your sins, your guilt, your failures, is the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Have you experienced the power of the living Christ, this resurrection power, in forgiving all of your sins? To have all of the sins of your past forgiven, acknowledge that you have sinned and that you are unable by yourself to get rid of your sin. The Bible refers to this as repentance, a turning from our sin. Believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, that He was buried, and that as the Son of God He was raised from the dead.

Receive Jesus, the risen Christ, as your Savior and Lord. The only power in the universe that can deal with your sins, your guilt, your failures, is the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When you trust in the living Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, the power of the risen Christ will wipe out all your sins.

For Our PresentMany people reject the Christian faith because they believe the Christian life is too difficult to live. They realize they have habits, problems, hang-ups, fears and lifestyles over which they seem to have no control. Life is going in a direction they don’t like. While the Christian life has many attractive features, it appears to be impossible to live. The Christian life is indeed impossible; that is, impossible to live in our own power. What we all need is a power greater than ourselves; we need a new power source.

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ affects our present lives at this exact point. When you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, the living Christ lives within you. The Apostle Paul writes: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20).

This is why conversion is sometimes described as being born again. We receive new life and new power. Christ now lives in us! So the Christian life is not us trying in our own strength to follow some rules and regulations, but rather it is our being transformed by the power of the living Christ who lives in us.

In describing the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead, Paul writes of the “surpassing greatness of His power” (Ephesians 1:19). Paul then explains that this same power, the power that raised Jesus from the dead, is available to all those who are in Christ Jesus.

All of us are aware of the power of sin in our lives, but this resurrection power breaks the power of sin. Sitting in a jumbo jet rumbling down the runway, I have wondered how that huge machine could ever leave the ground. The law of gravity remains in force, and yet, the huge jet still flies. What has happened? Has the law of gravity been suspended? No, another law is in force, a power that is greater than the law of gravity: the law of aerodynamics.

Are you drawing on this resurrection power?

The power of the resurrection is greater than the power of sin and of death in our lives (Romans 8:2). It is the greatest power in the universe.

Are you drawing on this resurrection power? Paul wrote, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). Paul had a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ, but he wanted to know Christ more and more so that Christ’s resurrection power would increasingly be experienced in His life. J.B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians1:18-19 like this: “How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.”

Praise God that this tremendous resurrection power is available to us! Instead of trying to live the Christian life using our own power, we can draw on this resurrection power to live a life pleasing to the Lord, each day believing that our great God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20, NKJV, emphasis added).

For Our FutureDeath knocks at every door. Eventually its long shadow will fall on each of us. “In the long run,” international economist John Maynard Keynes noted, “we are all dead.” The Christian’s answer to death is not found in ignoring it or fearing it, but rather in facing it.

Christians can face death because we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who says, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

The Christian’s answer to death is not found in ignoring it or fearing it, but rather in facing it.

Are you able to face the reality of your own death? Easter proclaims that Christ has conquered death. He has passed through it. Therefore, the only way to be victorious over death is to trust in the living Christ who is the only person who has defeated death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ guarantees our resurrection. Because Christ has been raised from the dead “so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

As a pastor I have ministered to many terminally ill people. Some have not known Christ as their personal Savior, whereas others have had their trust in the living Christ. What a difference there has been in their attitudes and perspectives when facing death. What a difference in how they have lived and how they have died!

In the 17th century, John Brown, one of the Scottish Covenanters, refused to compromise the principles of the Word of God. Graham of Claverhouse ordered his men to shoot John Brown in front of his pregnant wife and their children. The soldiers wouldn’t obey their commander, and so Claverhouse himself shot John Brown. He then turned to Mrs. Brown and asked, “What do you think of your husband now?”

With John’s body lying at her feet, she replied, “I’ve always thought a great deal of him, but I never thought as much of him as I now do.” How the Browns lived and how John Brown died was transformed because of Christ’s resurrection power in their lives. If they had known the hymn “Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned,” they would have sung enthusiastically:

To Him I owe my life and breathAnd all the joys I have;He makes me triumph over deathAnd saves me from the grave,And saves me from the grave.

Have you experienced the power of the resurrection?

Have you experienced the power of the resurrection? Has it made an impact on your past so that all your sins have been forgiven? Is it making an impact on your present as you consciously draw on this resurrection power? Does it give you strength and a hope for the future realizing that the same power that raised Christ from the dead will one day take you to be with God in heaven?

If you have never trusted Jesus Christ, place your trust in Him. Know and love Christ, and rejoice in this resurrection power. Christ is alive forevermore and has the keys of death and of Hades (Revelation 1:18). He gives us eternal life and will take us to be with him in heaven when we die.

Our Savior lived on this earth, and He knows the only way out of this world into heaven. He has made the way. In fact, He is the way to God and to heaven. Believe in Him and know Him this Resurrection Day.

But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions." - Genesis 15:14

Whenever God brings you through a time of great adversity, you can expect to come out of that experience with great possessions, if you have been faithful through the trial. This is a universal truth. Wisdom comes from obedience, not knowledge. When we have been tested and proven, the reality of our faith results in possessions from God that we would never receive if we had not gone through those trials. These are precious in His sight and should be valued greatly. Those who know you will be amazed at the wisdom that comes from your mouth. It is one of those mysteries of the gospel that only those who experience incredible testing and hardship can explain.

God kept the people of Israel enslaved 400 years, but when the time came to free them from the bondage of slavery, they came out with great possessions. These physical possessions symbolize the spiritual possessions we receive when we come out of being enslaved to those things that have hindered us all our lives. These possessions are to be shared with others so that they also can know how they might become free.

What has God freed you from that allows you to share your possessions with others? Share what God has done in your life with someone you work with today. It may be the possession they need most in their life.

How good were you at building forts? Not the ones made of timber, iron, and cement – rather the forts made from limbs, brush, and various items found in the wild. As for me, my forts were built in the woods that surrounded our back yard. Rarely was there a blueprint or hardly a plan, just an idea born from the mind of a curious kid.

Most of my fort building experience was centered mostly around constructing a wall of protection for the upcoming battle – real battles – with real consequences… there was no time for “imaginary foes and fantasy”. My buddies and I left the make-believe battles for the weird kids down the road. We formed teams with the intent to destroy the enemy fort while hurling dangerous objects at high velocity toward one another. We usually opted for the green pine cone as a weapon of choice (not a smart move).

Most battles rarely lasted beyond an hour, while the fort building would take the better part of the day.

There is a story in the Bible about a man named Nehemiah who left his royal post in a warm safe environment to go back to his homeland and rebuild the walls around his destroyed city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was going home to build a fort to protect his city and his neighbors.

Now that we are grown up…we still wake each day, and continue working on the walls of our forts. Some of the forts we build provide shelter and protection for the people we care for. While other forts are made to isolate and hide ourselves from the world. What are your forts protecting?

In the story of Nehemiah, he was devastated that the world had come against his brothers and sisters and had torn down his hometown. Attack after attack had left Jerusalem in shambles and the city walls were lying on the ground in mixed up rubble. Nehemiah clinched his fist, set his jaw, and was determined to restore his home… and he did it.

The forts that you have built for yourself can become quite accomodating to all sorts of matters in your life. Some of the forts are built with the best intentions, but end up becoming a hiding place where you live a secret life. Do you have a couple of those forts? Have you built walls around your dark habits in order to hide like a hermit – keeping others out of your business?

God instructs us to live inside of His will. The walls of God’s kingdom cannot be broken and offer shelter, protection, freedom, and absolute contentment. But if you choose to live outside of those walls, you’re a dead-man-walking.

You may seem to have life, and you may think you’ve achieved victory with your elaborate fortress. However, building your fortresses around the darkness of greed, pride, selfishness, perversion, or other world-driven pursuit isn’t a fort at all – it’s a prison.

Evil works overtime to convince us that our prisons are… fortresses. The elaborate construction of intricate defenses mechanisms that line our outer boundaries are filled with guns – which are all pointed inward – rather than outward.

Since we are highly skilled at building walls – perhaps we should put that skill to better use by building the walls of God’s kingdom. Let’s spend our day as warriors who will continue to fortify the walls of faith around our neighbors, our family, and our community. Let’s work at tearing down the prisons our brothers have constructed and re-building the city walls of faith and hope.

May you escape your forts of isolation and realize that freedom only comes from the Grace of God and He has a place for you… inside His walls. And may we be like Nehemiah… clinching our fists, setting our jaw, and being determined to fortify the walls of faith for the people we care most about.

I found this article and I thought this morning it would be fitting.

What Is God's Grace?

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 118:1

Have you ever received a gift you didn't deserve? The gift was given to you out of love. God is so great that He gives us His grace because of His love for us.

Grace is God showing His love to you even though you don't deserve it. You can't earn God's grace. You do not deserve to be saved from sin and to have eternal life. But God showed His grace by saving you from sin's punishment when you trusted in Jesus as your Savior. God also shows His grace by giving you strength and guidance, and by taking care of you each day. God, by His grace, gives you strength to handle difficult problems in your life. Isn't God's grace wonderful?

If you know Jesus as your Savior, you can be thankful that God saved you by His grace. The Bible says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith . . ." (Ephesians 2:8). You can also depend on God each day for the grace you need to live for Him. Because God shows His grace to you, you should show His grace to others. Have you ever thanked God for His grace in your life?

Today was an interesting day. I spent the day in court as an onlooker for some research I am doing. I sat there and listened as the DA does what they do and the Defense does what they do. I asked myself do they really care about the lives at stake or are they merely doing their jobs? What do you think? Before you read on ask yourself do they care? I listened as a defense attorney pointed the finger at the system stating the person is this way because the system failed to provide treatment? God allowed me to feel the pain, hurt, loneliness, despair and torture this person was feeling inside? I could not help but ask myself did the system fail? Or did someone else fail before this person became apart of the system? As I asked myself I took some time to think of the word "became". If something became something else there was a process of change and during this process did no one cared to intervene?

We can get so tied up that we lose site of what we are suppose to do. We are here to help each other. Do you need help? Gods grace was poured out so you can experience healing. Won't you accept His grace today and understand that change can take place, freedom can be yours and you can become all which God intended for you to be.